Twin Lakes welcomes a second exchange student | New
MONTICELLO – Twin Lakes High School welcomed a new student this month, Maksym Nikulin, who has traveled from his home in Ukraine to find out what it’s like to be an American teenager.
“This is my second time applying for this program,†Nikulin said. “The first time around, I didn’t pass the required tests, but this year I was ready.
The Nikulin school application process is rigorous. More than 5,500 students spend several months studying for the four exams that will qualify them to study abroad and earn them one of the 220 places available each year.
“I have never been to the United States but have been learning English since I was eight years old. said Nikulin. “No one in my family speaks English. The only person I have to train with is my teacher, so coming to the States was important to me. I am delighted to be able to gain more experience with the language.
Nikulin lives with his father Nick, his mother Olna and his 9-year-old brother Egor in the city of Nova Kakhovka, Ukraine.
“It is considered a very small city in Ukraine, even though there are around 70,000 people living there,†he said. “Everything is very different there. I noticed that things in America all looked bigger – cars, houses, and significantly larger portions of food. “
Nikulin will complete his final year of high school at Twin Lakes and participate in his Ukrainian school’s Flex program.
“The courses I take here will count towards my high school completion requirement. I also have to take online lessons and exercises from my home school and pass the final exams when I return to Ukraine so that I can complete my studies, â€Nikulin said. “I plan to go to university in Ukraine, majoring in information technology, and graduate in computer science.”
While in Monticello, Nikulin is hosted by Kelly and Melody Crandall with fellow exchange student Liam Bothmer.
“My host family keeps us very busy. We go a lot of places and see a lot of things on the weekends, â€he said. “I am really looking forward to our next trip to see the Indy 500 circuit in Indianapolis.”
In the United States, Nikulin also hopes to visit Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Alaska, and Yellowstone National Park.
“There are so many opportunities in American high schools. We don’t have any school-sponsored sports or extracurricular activities at my homeschool, â€he said. “I played tennis and club football for a few years, but I’m very excited to get involved in football and baseball. I have never played these two sports before.
Nikulin hopes to have many experiences during his stay in the Monticello area. He hopes to make lots of friends, participate in many American traditions, participate in the upcoming fall play as part of the Twin Lakes Drama program, and survive tackles from “American football†opponents of the Twin Lakes Indians.